Entries in Gloria Allred
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Ryan Pierse/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- The John Travolta sexual harassment case took an unusual turn Monday, when the former lawyer of the two anonymous plaintiffs sued their new attorney, Gloria Allred.

According to TMZ.com, Okorie Okorocha claims Allred stole the second plaintiff away from him after the initial plaintiff hired her. He told the second plaintiff in a text message -- the contents of which was provided with the lawsuit -- that Allred "ain't been in a courtroom in 20 years. Just doing stupid ass press conference side shows."

Allred says in a statement obtained by TMZ that she will file a counterclaim against Okorocha for defamation, adding, "Doe #1 and Doe #2 contacted me seeking representation, and we have the evidence to prove it."

The two plaintiffs, who are both masseurs, sued Travolta sexual battery and sexual harassment, but later dropped their complaints. However, Allred has left open the possibility that the lawsuits will be re-filed.﻿

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- The second anonymous masseur who sued John Travolta, claiming sexual battery and sexual harassment, has hired lawyer Gloria Allred, much as the first accuser did earlier this week.

The second masseur withdrew his lawsuit on Thursday, but Allred is leaving open the possibility that the complaint may be re-filed.

She said in a statement obtained by People magazine, "We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court and, therefore, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice."

The first masseur has also dropped his lawsuit and hired Allred.

Travolta's lawyer, Marty Singer, is waving off any suggestion that the actor settled either case, telling TMZ.com, "Not one penny has been paid nor do we have any intention to pay any money for these ridiculous and false claims."

Singer also denies a National Enquirer report, detailed by the New York Post, claiming that Travolta once tried to perform a sex act on Grease co-star Jeff Conaway.

Singer tells E! News, "This spate of recklessly published tabloid stories is just part of a malicious tabloid agenda to boost lagging sales by running outrageous defamatory stories about my client sourced by people seeking notoriety or a payday."

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- The first of two men to file a sexual battery and sexual harassment lawsuit against John Travolta may revisit his case after dropping his complaint earlier this week.

The unidentified masseur has hired high-profile lawyer Gloria Allred, who tells People magazine, "Mr. Doe's lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice which means that he is still legally entitled to file another lawsuit against John Travolta if he chooses. We are in the process of conferring with him regarding the next steps, which he may wish to take."

The masseur had claimed Travolta attempted to have sex with him during a massage at a Beverly Hills hotel, but photographic evidence released by Travolta's attorney to the media seemed to show that the actor was in New York at the time of the alleged incident.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic(LOS ANGELES) -- Rachel Uchitel may not be the biggest fan of Tiger Woods right now. According to TMZ.com, the former nightclub hostess returned a large sum of the $10 million she received to keep quiet about her affair with Tiger Woods. But now she's having second thoughts and may sue her lawyer, Gloria Allred, for malpractice.

Allred negotiated the settlement, which included a confidentiality clause stating that Uchitel could not talk about Woods and that if she violated the agreement, she would have to return the money and could also be sued by Woods, according to TMZ.com.

Sources told TMZ.com that by speaking with the entertainment news site and appearing on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew to treat an "addiction to love," attorneys for Woods believe Uchitel was in violation of the agreement terms, despite never mentioning Woods on the show.

Now Swank – whose character gets a law degree to help prove her brother's innocence – has suddenly become the film's second victim.

At a press conference streamed live Thursday afternoon on TMZ.com, feminist lawyer Gloria Allred claimed that neither Swank – an executive producer for the movie – nor the film company ever contacted Brow's children.

Allred said that the children – Melrose and Charles, who were also at the news conference – "want to express their disappointment and anger about what they believe is a failure by the producers of the new movie Conviction to show respect and compassion for their family, when it was the brutal murder of their mother that triggered events which are the basis for this feature film which will be released [Friday]."

Allred described Katharina Brow as a loving mother and grandmother, and a victim of "a cold, heartless and brutal murder." Kenneth Waters spent 18 years in prison while his sister, who did not have a college degree, put herself through law school so that she could fight for his freedom.

Allred said Swank's description of Conviction during a Larry King interview on CNN as "a feel-good movie" is not a description shared by Brow's children and family.

"The release of Conviction and the press tour that accompanies it does not make them feel good, the fact that their mother is mentioned in it does not make them feel good and the fact that neither Ms. Swank nor anyone else connected to the film has had the decency to contact the family about the terrible tragedy they have suffered does not make them feel good," said Allred.

"[The children] should have been asked if they had any questions about the film and they should have been consulted about any portrayal of their mother and her murder," she said. "They should also have been asked if they wished to attend a private screening."

Allred – spoofed last weekend on Saturday Night Live as a publicity hound, famous for representing women whose plights quickly became media fodder – announced that she has sent a letter to Swank and hopes for "a positive, thoughtful and caring response."

The letter requests a meeting between the children, Swank and the filmmakers. "[Melrose's] mother was not just a name, and was not and is not a person who should be used as a line in a script or just a way to make a profit for the entertainment industry," Allred wrote. The correspondence also included questions that Melrose would have asked the filmmakers had she been contacted.

Allred concedes this is not a legal issue, but a moral one. "It should be for Hollywood producers to reach out," rather than having the burden fall on the victim's family members to get in touch with Hollywood, said Allred. "You have time to make a movie, you have time to make a phone call."

Allred told ABC News a letter to a victim's family is insufficient. "There needs to be a conversation," she said. "Filmmakers should have the courtesy to listen to family members' concerns."

Although Allred said she has hopes for a new moral standard in Hollywood associated with this type of issue, not all legal experts think the matter is so simple.

"A film producer may be reluctant to talk to people not central to or depicted in the movie, because it may start a slippery slope," said Jimmy Nguyen, an entertainment and intellectual property lawyer at Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon in Los Angeles.

Nguyen cites impracticality – there may be too many people to contact. "Family members contacted also may request monetary compensation, even though legally there is no obligation," he said. "And the family may make requests that would complicate making the film."

The key question for filmmakers, said Nguyen, should be, "Whose perspective is being shown?" In the case of Conviction, he said, the focus is on Betty Anne Waters and her brother Kenny. He also added that the information about Brow used in Conviction was public knowledge, used in court documents.

Allred said she doesn't buy into the argument that producers' lives would be complicated if they reach out to the people in their films. "Nothing is more complicated than the life of a murder victim's family," she said.